Check out a video trailer for the pay-per-view event, which recently included a well-attended kickoff event at a mall in Moscow.

Emelianenko fights for the first time since an ill-fated bout with Dan
Henderson at “Strikeforce and M-1 Global: Fedor vs. Henderson” that
ended with him dazed on the mat in
the first round. After the July bout, Emelianenko said he wasn’t sure
whether he’d continue to fight or retire from the sport.

It was Emelianenko’s third consecutive loss, and it led UFC president
Dana White to declare the former PRIDE champion was cut from
Strikeforce, which is owned by UFC parent company Zuffa. M-1 Global
officials said Emelianenko was not under contract with Strikeforce – and
instead Showtime – and would continue to work with the premium-cable
network.

Emelianenko is winless since a Strikeforce-debut victory over Brett
Rogers in November 2009. Since then, he’s suffered a submission loss to
Fabricio Werdum in 2010 and a recent TKO defeat to Antonio Silva in the
opening round of the Strikeforce heavyweight grand prix earlier this
year. Despite the losses, all three of Emelianenko’s recent Strikeforce
fights have been some of the highest-rated events in Showtime’s MMA
history.

Monson recently snapped an eight-fight win streak with a Strikeforce
loss to Daniel Cormier in June. (The fight marked Monson’s Strikeforce
debut.) Since his stint with the UFC in 2006, which included a failed
bid to take Tim Sylvia’s UFC heavyweight belt, he’s competed in organizations throughout
the world and has picked up some notable victories over the likes of
Roy Nelson, Ricco Rodriguez, Sergei Kharitonov and others.

As the UFC 189 tour made its last stop in Dublin, featherweight champ Jose Aldo was met with a torrent of abuse from the Irish fans. It might have been unpleasant, but it might also have been just what he needed.